


Distinction

by InterstellarBlue (nagi_schwarz)



Series: The Strongest Form of Magic [3]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Gen, Minor Park Jinwoo | Jinjin/Original Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 10:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22848673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/InterstellarBlue
Summary: In which Bin loves Eunwoo more than Jinwoo, Eunwoo doesn't quite follow, and Eunwoo gets a woman's phone number.Or: how Bin found out some girls in idol groups are also Songbirds.
Series: The Strongest Form of Magic [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641382
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020, K-pop and K-drama AUs





	Distinction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brumeier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/gifts).



> Written for the band names commen_fic prompt: "Any K-drama/K-pop, Any, Friends of Distinction."
> 
> Set just prior to [All the Points of the Compass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22835290)

Eunwoo ducked out of the dressing room for some fresh air. Bin didn’t blame him for taking a break while he had the chance, because dressing rooms were an endless haze of hair spray, body spray, and other smelly products that Bin, with his super sensitive nose, really hated. At least his teammates generally wore nice cologne.

Sanha immediately claimed Eunwoo’s vacant seat so the stylist could get started on his makeup.

Bin supposed he should have made more of an effort to get his hair and makeup done fast, but now he had a chance to finish off this delicious ramyeun. He knew if he set it aside someone else would grab it and scarf it down before he had a chance to finish it. That was one of the rules among them: there’s no such thing as  _ your food. _ Sanha often defended his food by making it too spicy for the others to stand, but once even a very hungry Eunwoo had braved Sanha’s rice bowl, and Jinwoo and Minhyuk had hovered over him after, rubbing his back and plying him with a bottle of milk to ease the burn.

Bin slurped up his noodles happily. He needed to eat now so the food had time to settle before they took the stage. Music shows were brutal. He preferred the ones that were filmed live, because even though those were the riskiest performance-wise, at least those happened at reasonable times, started at six or seven and were finished by nine or ten. Pre-recording for other shows happened as early as two in the morning, and as horrible as that could be, Bin felt even worse for their fans, mostly young girls who needed to be well-rested for school, being out so late in the cold waiting to see them.

Myungjun had had his hair and makeup done first and was asleep on one of the little couches, head tipped onto Minhyuk’s shoulder while Minhyuk listened to music and half-dozed, already dressed and made up himself. Bin knew he wouldn’t need to spend nearly as much time in the chair as the others, because he, like Sanha and Jinwoo, had to keep his hair covered so as not to reveal its new color for the upcoming comeback.

Which was kind of silly, because fans would see it at the concert anyway, but Bin was a good little idol, and he did what he was told.

Sanha looked cute with the newsboy cap they’d put over his pale purple hair. Bin wondered what they would make him wear. He cast about for Jinwoo. What was Jinwoo wearing to hide his hair? Myungjun didn’t have to hide his hair because it was pale and similar to the previous comeback, wouldn’t be too revolutionary a look for the fans to see. Bin hated getting his hair bleached. Compared to Myungjun, Sanha, and Jinwoo, he had really thick hair, and where their hair only needed to be bleached once before it took a color, his had to be bleached three times. The smell of hair chemicals was only slightly less awful than hospital cleaning chemicals.

Bin hated hospitals.

But he loved being a performer. Every job had its downside. He’d sacrificed his childhood to training. He’d do what he had to.

“Where’s Eunwoo?” Manager asked, poking his head into the dressing room. The managers liked to get together at music shows and brag - and complain - about their ‘kids’ whenever they had the chance, and as soon as all of them had made it to the dressing room he’d vanished.

“He went out for some fresh air,” Bin said around a mouthful of ramyeun.

Manager nodded and dug his phone out of his pocket, called Eunwoo.

A phone buzzed on the table in front of Bin.

Manager sighed. “Of course he didn’t take his phone with him. Jinwoo, go find your stray kid - where’s Jinwoo?” 

Bin shrugged.

Manager called Jinwoo, but of course there was no response, because Jinwoo never answered calls. Manager sighed. “I’ll find Jinwoo. You find Eunwoo. Take your phone with you.”

Bin nodded and slurped up the last of his ramyeun. He tossed the carton and chopsticks into the garbage can, grabbed his phone, and headed into the chaos that was backstage at a music broadcast. The techs in black were like ninjas, darting here and there, speaking rapidly into their headsets in low murmurs like prayers and occasionally grabbing a brightly-dressed idol to tell them a message or take them where they needed to go.

Bin apologized his way down the corridor to the stairs they’d come up. On the way up, Bin had noticed one of the windows was open; he’d marked it because he knew one of his friends in another group might seek it out for a smoke break, and Bin might have a chance to catch up with him that way. Eunwoo would probably be there, poking his head out and trying to relax without getting too cold, because he was notoriously sensitive to the cold this time of year.

Bin made sure the door to the stairwell wasn’t locked before he headed down, peering over the railing in search of his teammate’s familiar stage outfit.

He thought he saw shadows shifting on the landing several floors down, so he hurried onward, but he knew better to call out in case some determined fans had made it into the building and he alerted them to Eunwoo’s presence.

Bin was about to round the corner and pounce on Eunwoo, who was indeed standing at the open window, the street light making his pale face even paler, when a beautiful woman in a very fancy stage outfit walked up to him. Bin stopped short. 

“Cha Eunwoo, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sunbaenim,” Eunwoo said, always polite, though Bin could detect the note of wariness in his tone.

Why was Yoona talking to Eunwoo? Her girl group had been five times as popular as Bin’s team when they were still together, and now that Yoona was solo, she could have any man she wanted, someone like G-Dragon. Eunwoo was insanely beautiful and talented, Bin wouldn’t deny that, but Yoona was world-famous in a way Eunwoo wasn’t. When people thought of Korea, they thought of kimchi, and they thought of Yoona.

“Son of Cha Eunsong, yes?”

“Yes, sunbaenim.” 

That wasn’t where Bin had expected this conversation to go. Eunwoo had inherited his good looks from his mother, no question, but unlike Sanha’s mother, who’d been a competition bodybuilder, and Minhyuk’s mother, who had worked in beauty and fashion for decades, Eunwoo’s mother was just...a mother. Wasn’t she?

“Eunwoo isn’t your real name, though, is it?”

“My real name is Lee Dongmin, sunbaenim.”

Yoona tittered. “You’re so polite. Unnie always said she wanted to name her first daughter Eunwoo. What’s your sister’s name?”

“My brother’s name is Donghui, sunbaenim.”

“Oh? All the children in the Cha line are boys? You’d better hope to have at least one daughter then, shouldn’t you?”

“I’m not sure I follow, sunbaenim. Our dating ban has been lifted, but I’m focused on my career right now.”

Yoona tittered again. “I’m not offering to date you, child. But - I know some girls. In the newer groups, in your generation. Strong and intelligent Songbirds.”

“I know who they are, but I’m sorry, I still don’t quite follow,” Eunwoo said. There was a steely undertone to his voice. 

Yoona sounded wrong-footed. “Oh. Well. I apologize.”

“Not at all, Yoona-sunbaenim,” Eunwoo said, and he sounded perfectly polite again. “I am flattered that an artist of such distinction as yourself took the time to speak to me, your inexperienced hoobae.”

Bin winced. Whenever Eunwoo broke out the fancy diction and syntax, he was  _ mad. _

“Well, you are very handsome and talented, and I am close with your mother. Tell Eunsong-unnie that I said hello.”

“Of course, sunbaenim. Also, rest assured that the Cha Clan would not lack for strong and intelligent Songbirds in future because of me.”

“Really?” There was a weight to the question that Bin didn’t understand, because he couldn’t see Yoona’s face.

“Yes, sunbaenim. Honestly, I’m surprised none of the girls told you about me.”

Yoona made a sound that wasn’t quite laughter. “Well, I’ll be. Let’s be friends from now on. You can call me noona, all right?”

“Yes, noona.”

“I like you, Eunwoo-ya. You are smarter than you look. If you ever need help in the future, here’s my number. I hope we can be very good friends.”

Bin bit back a strangled sound. He was pretty sure there were men who would literally kill to have Yoona’s number.

“Thank you, noona.”

“Good luck onstage tonight, Eunwoo-ya.”

“And you, noona. As they say in English,  _ break a leg.” _

Bin heard the rapid click-click-click of Yoona’s shoes as she walked away, then the sound of a door opening and closing. He counted to ten slowly, then called out, 

“Eunwoo! Manager is looking for you.”

Eunwoo turned to Bin with a sunny smile. “All right. I’ll be right there.”

“Jinwoo went missing too, so if you get there first, he’ll be madder at Jinwoo,” Bin said.

Eunwoo pulled the window closed but didn’t lock it, then followed Bin back up the stairs. “You’re so disloyal to our leader.”

“Because I love you more,” Bin said.

Eunwoo laughed. “You’re just saying that.”

Bin wasn’t, but there was no point in telling Eunwoo that, not now, not ever.

When they made it back to the dressing room, the stylist dragged Bin into her chair, and Manager scolded Eunwoo and Jinwoo for running off. Jinwoo took the brunt of it, because he’d sneaked off to see his girlfriend, who was performing with one of the other groups tonight as she was a backup dancer at another company. Eunwoo apologized and sat down beside Myungjun, who teased him lightly till his smile returned.

Bin wondered which girl idols were Songbirds - and how Eunwoo knew who they were.

But then it was time for their camera rehearsal with their name bibs on - so the cameras would know who to focus on when, both for the main photography and for the fan cams - and Bin pushed Yoona out of his mind.

All that mattered was Eunwoo anyway.


End file.
